Music: The Organ as Synthesizer

Organ music, wrote John Milton in the 1630s, "could dissolve me into
ecstasies and bring all heaven before mine eyes." Until the 20th
century, most music lovers would have agreed. Despite the revival of
interest in Baroque music, the organ's role in modern musical life has
been marginal. One reason is the declining importance of the church
itself. Another is that organists by temperament seem to be among the
most staid of musicians. In the past few years, though, a new
excitement has been stirred by organ playing and composing, thanks
largely to...